Author: jouisadmin

“The track is beautifully hazey journey through dream-rock, prog and electronica, like Amnesiac-era Radiohead meets early Pink Floyd but with a pop-led futuristic vision. It’s wonderful, and it is accompanied by a fittingly mind-bending psychedelic trip of a video”

Taking their name from ‘jouissance’, the French word for ‘high enjoyment’, Jouis are five graduates from Brighton’s Institute Of Modern Music and their music ebbs and flows between jazz, folk, psychedelia and prog. “Their sounds,” we’re told, “are designed to open your mind and spirit you away to new lucid dimensions.” There’s a lazy, jazzy ambience throughout, even when the lyrics hint at the perils of consumerism (Hyperception) or eco decay (Misty Maker Stompy). With 2 EPs and a seven inch single under their belts, the festival favourites enlistewd the help of producer Phill Brown (Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin) to record their debut album live to tape. Opener All That Is And Is One sets the gently trippy tone, all liquid guitar and sun-dappled shimmer, switching halway to a more urgent jazz-rock surge with shades of Santana. There are portents of doom amid the hippie, beatific mood on Rain, but it’s the music, not the lyrics, that triumph. Prog fans will especially enjoy the keyboard arpeggio-fest on Universe Goggles. ‘Comfortably drifting along with the tide.’ they swoon on Misty Maker Stomp. That’s the album’s vibe conured up right there. PL

“Masterly ’70s-styled psych-folk-rock from Brighton quintet
The Scent of incense and musty odour of Afghan coats may hang heavy over Jouis’ debut, but – high praise indeed – it only confirms a notable immersion in records like David Crosby’s If Only I Could Remember My Name. That they’re former music students is no surprise: their musical proficiency, time changes and multi-layered harmonies are intricate and considered. But legendary producer Phill Brown brings experience of sessions with Traffic, ensuring the credibility of lengthy jams like ‘Hyperception’ – with its “kaleidoscopic psychotropic” chant – and the autumnal grooves of “L∞p”, which slides effortlessly into the archly titles “What’s New Guru?”. – Wyndham Wallace”